In many welding applications, wire manipulation is becoming more popular. Wire manipulation occurs when the consumable wire/electrode is advanced and retracted at different stages during a welding process. For example, in some GMAW/MIG welding operations the electrode is advanced until a short circuit occurs or is detected and is then retracted to aid in clearing the short. In some processes this aids in clearing the short circuit quicker, and can result in a welding operation with lower overall heat input. However, in such applications, because of the wire control methodology, issues can occur during welding, such as inconsistent deposition rates during welding. This often occurs as the contact tip to work distance (CTWD) changes during some welding, as this can change the shorting frequency of the welding operation.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional, traditional, and proposed approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such approaches with embodiments of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.